20100811 Uncovering the Mystery of Family Names

Uncovering the Mystery of Family Names

Most English surnames can be traced back to one of four sources:

Place names

Perhaps the most convenient way to acquire a surname was to adopt a name based on the place one lived. A man named John who was living in Bristol, England, would be called John of Bristol. Gradually the prepositions disappeared, and John of Bristol simply became John Bristol. A person named Oliver who lived by a lake might become Oliver Atwater.

Nicknames

Nicknames also have a place in English surname history. For example, if a man were unusually strong, he might adopt a surname such as Armstrong. Likewise, a person who was tall might become Longfellow.

Trade names

Trade laborers often used their occupations as surnames. A woodworker might go by the last name Carpenter. Down the street might be Mr. Smith, the village blacksmith.

Patronymics

Surnames that indicate family relationships were the last to catch on. They worked like this: Peter's son John became John Peterson, and Robert's son Joseph would have been called Joseph Robertson. Whether common or unique, all English family names are full of history!

acquire v. 取得/獲得

=> get/obtain

eg: Tom acquired his fortune by investing in the stock market.

=> Tom的財富是從投資股市中獲得的。

eg: Harry drove his newly acquired convertible to work today.

=> Harry今天開他剛買的跑車上班。

acquire v. 學習到

eg: Nathan acquired Japanese when working in Japan.

=> Nathan在日本工作時，學會了日文。

labor n. 勞動

laborer n. 勞動者/勞工

=> people who got a lot of physical labor

eg: Farm laborers protested against the new import policy.

=> 農場勞動者抗議新的進口政策。

eg: The union declared that they will fight for the rights of the railroad laborers.

=> 工會宣稱他們為鐵路工人的權力抗爭。

catch on 流行/受到歡迎

=> become very popular

eg: The band's song soon caught on and quickly became number one on the Billboard Top 100 chart.

=> 這個樂團的歌曲很快的流行起來，很快就成為了告示板排行的第一名。

eg: The software slowly caught on and today many companies use it.

=> 這個軟件慢慢地風行起來，現在許多公司使用它。

preposition n. 介系詞

patr- related to father

-nym- name

patronymic n. 源自父(祖)名的名字

trace v.

=> follow the path that something took

occupation n. 工作/職業

blacksmith n. 鐵匠

//== Chat room ==//

surname 姓

= family name 姓

= last name (mainly used in west) 姓

=> 之所以叫做last name，是因為西方的姓氏都放在最後面

=> 而中文的姓放在名字前面

=> 為了方便西方人，很多東方人會將自己的姓移到名字的後頭

Yo-Yo Ma 馬友友

Ang Lee 李安

//== Grammar on the Go ==//

Nicknames also have a place in English surname history.

=> Nicknames are important part of English surname history.

comebine "have a place" with history

= a certain part of history

eg: The athlete won a place in history when he broke the world record.

eg: Copernicus claimed a place in history with his contributions to astronomy.

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have a place

having somewhere to go

eg: Do you have a place to stay when you're visiting London?